Following the announcement that Pat Lam will depart Connacht at the end of this season to take over at Bristol, one of the names immediately mentioned as a possible replacement was Ronan O'Gara.
The former Munster player is current working with Racing Metro as defensive coach. After joining the club in 2013, he signed a new three-year deal in March.
O'Gara will not be breaking that contract to replace Lam. In his Irish Examiner column today, the former Munster player said that Connacht have not been in contact and that right now he is too invested in Racing Metro.
Connacht haven’t been in touch with me. Even if they had, it’s just too early for me to consider something like that at home. I don’t want to give up what we have at Racing at this stage, I am too interested in it, too much invested in it just to up sticks.
Racing were in the final of the European Cup and won the Top 14 last season. It doesn’t get much better than that. And that didn’t materialise overnight, more than three years work has gone into that. I am 39 now. I have time. If I was going home to Ireland, it mightn’t even be for coaching. Nobody should pigeon-hole themselves into career boxes.
There is a presumption that one day O'Gara will return to Thomond Park to pilot Munster to glory. O'Gara says this is a possibility which is currently not envisaging.
There appears to be this pre-ordained career path for myself that has directed me to France to learn my trade before a certain team in Ireland comes calling. I am not even thinking of any such job, because that’s not where my head’s at.
If the sad events of recent times tell us anything it’s that you only control one day: That’s today. Chances are my career won’t work out the way people perceive it. Indeed I am pretty sure — sure as anyone can be — that it won’t. If I am asked, I will go where there’s a project that interests me.
